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Magical core
A magical core is, in simple terms, the "well" or reserve of magic within the body of magical humans. Whether other magical beings have a core is not yet a matter of consensus due to the sensitive nature of the question in light of the often tense relations between magical humans and other races. Discovery and medical implications While mentions of a magical core or a similar concept appear in literature dating to at least the era of Merlin, the magical core as it is currently known and accepted is considered to have been discovered in the early 1700s. People who perform significant amount of magic all at once, or a particularly difficult working, have been known to pass out or difficulties controlling their magic shortly afterwards. Study of this occurrence, which came to be called magical exhaustion, by a team led by Healer Tiberius Thickney led to the official discovery and documentation of the existence of the magical core. As a reservoir of magical capacity, the magical core's size, condition, and depletion rate influence how much magic someone can perform before experiencing magical exhaustion. Most people recover after a period of rest, but in severe cases the use of spells or potions to stabilize the core and create conditions optimal for replenishment might be recommended. Core Alignment A magical individual's innate propensity for light versus dark magic is considered at least in part a function of the alignment of their magical core. People whose magic naturally seems to function best with the structure and order most typical of light magic are said to have a light core, those whose magic seems inclined towards a more wild and instinctive approach such as is typical of dark magic are said to have a dark core, and those whose magic seems comfortable with both are said to have a gray core. It is widely accepted as a fact that people are born with a magical core that tends at least slightly towards one of the three alignments, but there is significant debate over the extent of the influence of birth on core alignment. The light faction tends to believe that a propensity for certain core alignments runs within a family but that individual choices regarding which magical practices to perform ultimately determine the state of the core and, therefore, that all people can choose to cultivate a light core -- which they consider the only desirable alignment -- by practicing only "good" (light) magic and avoiding what they see as the "temptation" to "succumb" to use of the dark arts. The light often points to the fact that all Hogwarts students, including those from known dark families, have managed to master the Hogwarts curriculum, which skews heavily light with some gray arts introduced in upper years but nothing officially considered dark, as proof of their theory that core alignment depends primarily on the types of magic magical children practice while growing up. The dark faction also believes that core alignment typically runs within a family's bloodline, but they believe that the core's alignment is relatively set at birth and will not be dramatically changed by the types of magic that someone performs. They argue that people of all core alignments can perform any type of magic, just perhaps with more effort than would be needed from someone whose alignment matched the flavor of the magic in question, and thus, students with dark cores would still develop high levels of skill with light arts simply because that is the only option in most magical societies. Core Development The magical core develops over time as an individual ages. Most magical children perform their first noticeable acts of accidental magic sometime between the ages of 18 months and 6 years, which is believed to be when the magical core begins settling within the child. The first age of core stability occurs sometime between age 8 and age 11, and this is known to be the point at which the core has become relatively stable and the child can access their magic in a controlled way to deliberately cast magic; this is a major reason that age 11 is when students begin their Hogwarts education. There is widespread agreement that a child's magical core will continue to expand and grow stronger during their adolescence. Traditionalists (people who believe in dark-aligned magical theory) believe there is significant evidence for a second age of core stability occurring in the late stages of puberty, a time at which they believe the core expands greatly and settles into a relatively final adult strength and alignment. Thus, the third and final milestone in the series of Formation Rites observed by Traditionalists is a coming-of-age ceremony called Bridging, which occurs at around the age of biological maturity/full core maturity. Category:Basic Information Category:Magical theory